Margarete of Saxony (4 August 1469 in

Meissen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...

– 7 December 1528 in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

) was a

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

princess of the Ernestine line of the house Wettin by birth and by marriage a Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Life

Margarete was a daughter of the Elector

Ernest of Saxony Ernest (24 March 144126 August 1486), known as Ernst in German, was Elector of Saxony from 1464 to 1486. Ernst was the founder and progenitor of the ''Ernestine line'' of Saxon princes. Biography Ernst was born in Meissen, the second son (bu ...

(1441–1486) from his marriage to

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

(1443–1484), a daughter of the Duke Albert III of Bavaria-Munich. Her brothers

Frederick the Wise Frederick III (17 January 1463 – 5 May 1525), also known as Frederick the Wise (German: ''Friedrich der Weise''), was Prince-elector of Saxony from 1486 to 1525, who is mostly remembered for the protection given to his subject Martin Luther, t ...

and

John the Steadfast John (30 June 146816 August 1532), known as John the Steadfast or John the Constant (''Johann, der Beständige''), was Elector of Saxony from 1525 until 1532 from the House of Wettin. He is notable for organising the Lutheran Church in the Elec ...

were Electors of Saxony; her sister Christina was Queen of Denmark. Margarete married on 27 February 1487 in

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...

with Duke Henry I of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1468–1532). Henry had already been sent to the Saxon court as a 12-year-old. Marriage negotiations presumably began in 1469, as Henry's father, Otto V had formed an alliance with Margarete's uncle

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

. The Saxon side had delayed the marriage until the expansion of the

Celle Castle Celle Castle () or, less commonly, Celle Palace, in the German town of Celle in Lower Saxony, was one of the residences of the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg. This quadrangular building is the largest castle in the southern Lüneburg Heath reg ...

was completed, as the

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

and castle of Celle had been promised to Margarete as her

wittum Wittum (), Widum or Witthum is a medieval Latin legal term, known in marital and ecclesiastical law. Provide for a widow at the wedding The term referred initially to steps taken by a husband to provide for his wife if she became a widow. The wi ...

. Margarete died in 1528 and was buried in the Church of St. Peter and Paul in

Issue

# Anna (born: 1492; died young) # Elisabeth (1494–1572), married in 1518 Duke Charles II of Guelders (1467–1538) #

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

(1495–1549), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg married in 1527 Meta of Campe (died: 1580) # Ernest I the Confessor (1497–1546), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, married in 1528 Princess Sophia of Mecklenburg (1508–1541) # Apollonia (1499–1571), nun #

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th c ...

(1502–1568), married in 1525 Duke Barnim IX of Pomerania (1501–1573) #

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

(1508–1549), Duke of Brunswick-Gifhorn, married in 1547 princess Clara of Saxe-Lauenburg (1518–1576)

Ancestry

References

* Martina Schattkowsky: ''Witwenschaft in der frühen Neuzeit'', Universitätsverlag Leipzig, 2003, p. 171 ff
Online
* Horst Masuch: ''Das Schloss in Celle'', A. Lax, 1983 * Ingetraut Ludolphy: ''Friedrich der Weise: Kurfürst von Sachsen 1463- 1525'', Vandenhoeck und Rupprecht, Göttingen, 1984 {{DEFAULTSORT:Margarete of Saxony House of Wettin 1469 births 1528 deaths Duchesses of Brunswick-Lüneburg 15th-century German nobility 16th-century German nobility 15th-century German women 16th-century German women Middle House of Lüneburg Daughters of prince-electors Mothers of German monarchs